I love when I get dramatic e-mails from my students! They all sound very worrisome or even panicky, but I am a firm believer that dramatic is the better word. What do you think?
"Mrs. you but me down all the way to E!! OMG please Mrs. OK tomorrow i'm taking the AR quiz and i'm doing the book talk OK so it will go up little please Mrs. help me tell me anything for extra credit."
I love how this student never asks or explains how he did not study (you know, chose to not study for the quiz), but instead focuses on how I gave him the E! I mean, this student's e-mail sounds like I am waiting for excitedly for the moment when a student's points don't add up to a passing grade. Do students think that this is the moment teachers high five other teachers?
I also love how students are always willing to do extra credit instead of studying for something that they know is coming. But, I have to admit, this student does have a plan: read, take a book quiz, and complete a book talk. Of course, there is now the anticipation of what I will GIVE as a grade. Wonder if I will get an other e-mail tonight?
What funny or interesting e-mails have you received from your students?
It is such a hard concept that the grade you receive is in relation to the quality of the work completed. I don't think they ever get that. I take it an E is not a good grade?
ReplyDeleteSince I am retired, I do not get emails from students...but I often had them ask why I gave them a grade...and of course, I informed them that they earned that grade. I am sure that did not register in their minds at the time. I, too, wondered if they thought teachers liked 'giving' poor grades. Your guy sounds like he really 'wants' to work on that grade...so it will be interesting to see if he does. Jackie http://familytrove.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteSince I am retired I don't get emails from my students...but I did have some wonder why I "gave" them a poor grade. Looks like times never change. And, yes, why do they want to do all of the extra credit, when studying for a quiz would have been enough! Jackie http://familytrove.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThe panic in this kids email is so evident...too bad they did not think to put some time into studying first so that the email would not be necessary. I don't respond to my students when they ask such questions - better to talk in person!
ReplyDeleteTara, I did not reply either! We had a class conversation on how to write e-mail to teachers!
DeleteOh, Jaana, Sounds like a high school student two days before grades are due! Today I had hard conversations about students' work in their academic journals. We looked at their work, I reviewed notes and reminders I'd written in their journals since September and asked them why they weren't doing it (if they weren't) and praised them if they were off and independently on their way to word learning. I was only looking at their vocabulary practice, their word collections. The conversations take time (that I sometimes don't think I have) but always make me feel better about what's happening once I have them. Usually we come to some solution together. That keeps everyone going.
ReplyDeleteYes, we had a little conversation today. We also discussed how to word e-mails to teachers. A few remarks were quite funny:)
DeleteOur grading quarter ends next week, so some of my students are starting to get this exact tone, Jaana! I do like the fact that this student has a plan, even though he/she didn't complete the original plan (study and do well the first time)! I often wish that grades weren't such a big deal so we could focus more on the learning, not the grade... but alas, that's not the world we live in!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth!
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